What does an AC compressor do?

What does an AC compressor do?

Summary

What does an AC compressor do?

What does an AC compressor do?

The compressor is the component that powers that air conditioning unit.

When you turn on the air conditioner, the compressor compresses and heats up the refrigerant, a special mixture of fluid. This compressed and hot refrigerant is then sent through the condenser to cool down. 

The refrigerant then goes through the dryer to get rid of contaminants. Once purified, the compressed refrigerant passes through the expansion valve, where it is stripped of its pressure. After traveling through the evaporator, the refrigerant is now super clean, dry and cold. 

To create the gusts of cold air blowing out of your car’s AC, air is sent through this newly cold refrigerant in the compressor tank to cool down and then blown out through the blowers.

car AC compressor stays on all the time
The cold air from the AC is the result of air passing through to dry, cold refrigerant.

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